Lae business slowly picks up after riot

Source: The National, Wednesday 09th November 2011 By GABRIEL LAHOC BUSINESS activities in Lae are slowly picking up following the ethnic uprising that began last Thursday and lasted through the weekend. A number of companies in Lae reported that although they were cautiously opening for operations this week, they were still concerned about the safety of their employees. The number of working days during which they have remained closed had also affected the companies in various industries, who also reported losses from lost man hours. Apart from the private sector, the government divisions and agencies said they were affected as their staff did not report for work for fear of their safety. The retail industry in Lae had been forced to operate with skeletal staff as complete closure would mean shortage of food for many households who would not be able to buy their supplies. Senior staff spoke on condition of anonymity as their employers were still assessing their losses during the four days of rioting and attacks by local Morobeans, especially around Lae. A senior staff at ANZ bank in Lae said the bank heavily lost business during the first two days of rioting, in which less than K1 million in deposits was recorded. He said they started off slowly on Monday and picked up yesterday in terms of transactions with customers. “For banks, time lost is money lost, and we lost a lot from customers not opening new accounts and deposits not taking place,” he said. A senior commercial banker from another banker said several companies were severely affected because salaries of their workers’ had remained unpaid until Monday. The management of Mapai Trucking reported that it had been “greatly affected”. It said the violence had affected many drivers who could not report for work. However, the company said it was slowly picking up. It blamed the local government for failing to contain the city violence. The stevedoring companies in Lae were operating with skeletal staff as majority of their staff had not reported for work, according to workers. A number of business houses said they were hoping to resume operations with mobile police squads patrolling the city on a regular basis..

A police mobile unit personnel inspecting a deserted residential area in a Lae settlement torched during the weekend’s violence. Left: Prime Minister Peter O’Neill (left) issuing the state of emergency warning in the presence of Police Minister John Boito, Acting Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga and Energy and Petroleum Minister William Duma